James 4: 1 - 7
¶"Where do wars and fightings among
you come from? Don't they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and
don't have. You kill, covet, and can't obtain. You fight and make war. You don't have,
because you don't ask. You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so
that you may spend it for your pleasures. You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know
that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend
of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in
vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously"? But he gives more grace.
Therefore it says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Be
subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
This text speaks about fighting and quarreling
because of the desires that people have within them.
They want the upperhand and this causes wars and quarreling. Everyone believes that they are doing the right
thing and want to prove their point. They
think that they are better than the other person and are often jealous. This creates a grudge and then you despise a
person. You try and prove from the word of
God what you think is right and wrong. The
Bible says that you cant attain something because you ask for your own gain and not
for the Lords glory. You want to be the
beneficiary of everything and the centre of attraction. You ask, and don't receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. You
adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or
do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns
jealously"? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ". God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble." Be subject therefore to God. But resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.
Instead our whole being should be according to
the Lord Jesus. We should stop fighting in
the family, church and in the whole world and fulfill the desire of the Lord Jesus
heart. We must allow God to glorify the Lord
Jesus in our lives. v 6 says grace is given
to those who humble themselves. We must
submit to God and resist the devil and he will have to flee. Then God will entrust us with talents and make us
useable in His hands.